


You saved me

by cian1675



Category: Block B
Genre: Forgiving, Gen, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, Moving On, getting over the past, illicit affairs, jaehyo-centric, minor appearance of Minhyuk and Taeil, more disclaimers inside, no actual death happens, past scandal, there's sad parts but also a lot of trying to work things out, things get better eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-15 19:42:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7235944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cian1675/pseuds/cian1675
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jaehyo avoided a squirrel on the road, he hadn’t expected anything, let alone that the squirrel will return as a man, to save him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer!  
> The story mentions suicide, specifically one character saving another from jumping off the ledge. The one jumping does not really have suicidal tendencies, but he does feel numb during the period, which is described in writing. Please be aware, and do not read this if it might trigger you. 
> 
> Other than that, happy reading!

_Prologue._

 

There are two bright spots of light heading towards him. He’s frozen. Oh god.

He squeezes his eyes closed. The next thing he remembers is a loud screech of rubber against tar as the car swerves, narrowing avoiding him.

He’s still alive.

 


	2. One

_I._

He’s once heard that people are scared of heights not because they are scared of falling, but because they are afraid that they would give in to the urge to fall. Standing at the ledge of the roof, Jaehyo wonders which is the reason for the slight trembling of his legs.

 _Maybe it’s both_ , he thinks.

He doesn’t really want to die, but he isn’t thinking of getting to a safer position either. Jaehyo probably stands there, in the cool dark night overlooking the 2 storey houses around him for a long time. For how long, he doesn’t keep track.

This place, this rooftop of a 3 storey apartment, with a shabby room for a house that he’s lived in for the past few years is the only place he can even return to now. Going back home to Busan to his parents isn’t an option, not unless he explains _the whole thing_ to them, and he’s not sure if he wants to do that. Logically, he knows that there are probably other solutions, but his mind is in a haze, floating.

It is in this strange mood that Jaehyo suddenly feels a hand wrap around his wrist.

 

 

When Jaehyo turns around, he sees a tall man standing in his roof garden, or what passes off for a garden in this barren concrete tiled roof area outside his shed of a house. There’s a slight tug at this wrist, and Jaehyo finds his feet moving, crossing over the short railings on the ledge to step down onto the floor beside the stranger.

Jaehyo’s not too sure what has just happened, but as he looks over to the ledge that he had just been standing on, he wonders if the man had just saved him. He hadn’t intended to jump, but the indifference growing in his chest had numbed his mind to the point where Jaehyo thinks there is a high possibility that he might have been a splat on the pavement below if the man hadn’t appeared.

The thought sickens him, and Jaehyo removes the man’s grip on his arm to sit down on the wooden bench. The man makes no move to sit, standing in the same spot he had been when Jaehyo had first turned to see him. Under the dim street lights, Jaehyo makes out that the stranger is a man (boy?) in his early twenties, with dark hair and dressed simply in a long sleeved shirt and jeans. He doesn’t look familiar, and Jaehyo wonders if he lives nearby.

The silence grows, and much as Jaehyo wishes for one of them to say _something_ , he isn’t sure what he could say to this guy. Eventually, the guy says, “I’m Pyo Jihoon. The landlady says I could move in here tonight, but I wasn’t expecting someone to still be here.”

Jaehyo blinks, stalling for time to think of what to say. He had been falling behind on rent, but he had managed to scrap together enough money from working at the convenience store to pay off last month’s rent, so he’s surprised to hear that the landlady has already leased this place to someone else. _I wasn’t informed of this_ , he thinks.

He must have said that last line out loud, because the man, Jihoon-ssi, says, “It’s okay, I know it’s a short notice so we can share the space for a while, if you want.”

Jaehyo doesn’t know what to say to that, somewhat relieved that at least he won’t have to move out right away, so he nods and follows Jihoon-ssi into the house.

Inside the house, Jihoon-ssi takes a seat on the couch, finding cushions to set against the arm rest, and Jaehyo stands at the coffee table, unsure.

“You can sleep on the bed, and I’ll take the couch for the night,” Jihoon-ssi says, lying down already.

“Okay.”

 

 

When Jaehyo wakes up in the morning, it seems like every other morning, that is, every other morning since he got fired. The sun is already high in the sky, the room bright because he forgot to close the curtains last night. It’s only when he sees the pile of cushions on the couch that he remembers what happened last night.

The house isn’t big, only a living room, bathroom and single bedroom, although there is a small kitchen of sorts near the door in the living room space. Since the bathroom door is ajar, and Jaehyo hasn’t seen Jihoon-ssi in both the bedroom and living room, it’s safe to assume the other is probably out.

 _Maybe he’s at his job or something_ , Jaehyo thinks. Jaehyo has a job at the convenience store, but only for late night shifts when few people come in, so there are less chances of anyone recognizing his face. He drinks some water, and puts on a snapback to hide his dirty hair and also his face, before heading downstairs to find the landlady.

 

 

“Oh yeah, the Pyo-kid told me that he’s your friend, and you won’t mind sharing the place with him. He paid your overdue rent, and also rent for the next 2 months in advance. Didn’t he tell you?”

Jaehyo tries not to show the surprise he’s feeling to the landlady, a homely middle-aged _ahjumeoni_ who is nice, but sometimes nosey. He doesn’t want to have to explain that he doesn’t know Jihoon-ssi; that he had only come down to ask her about the mysterious man. He thanks the landlady, bowing politely, before excusing himself, with even more questions than before.

 

 

In the evening, when Jihoon-ssi returns, he has a small luggage that he pulls behind him. Jaehyo goes through the list of questions he’s thought of earlier, and asks, “Who are you, and why did you tell the landlady we’re friends?”

If Jihoon-ssi is affected by the questions, he does a good job of not showing it. Jihoon-ssi merely sets his luggage down, calming closing the door while he answers, “I’m someone you once saved.”

Jaehyo feels his legs weaken, and he sits down on the couch, afraid he’ll fall.

Jihoon-ssi continues, “I said we are friends, because I’m hoping we will become friends, I guess.”

Jihoon-ssi isn’t smiling or anything, face neutral, serious even, and Jaehyo isn’t sure what to make of it. He doesn’t know Jihoon-ssi well at all, so he can’t tell if the other is lying. “What do you mean I saved you?”

He watches as Jihoon-ssi takes off his outer jacket to hang on the chair, and sits down beside him. Jaehyo turns his body to face the other, waiting for Jihoon-ssi to say something. After a heartbeat, Jihoon-ssi says simply, “You were driving, and your car could have crashed into me, but you swerved instead, so I lived.”

Jaehyo does not remember ever almost running into a person, and his disbelief has him narrowing his eyes at Jihoon-ssi. “I don’t think I have ever done that. I’m pretty sure I would remember if I had almost killed a person.”

“You ended up in hospital for a week because of the swerve,” Jihoon-ssi adds, staring straight at Jaehyo as if that will jot his memory.

“I don’t remember being in hospital – Oh,” Jaehyo suddenly remembers _something_ , but it only makes him more suspicious, “I did end up in a hospital before, but I was avoiding a squirrel…”

“Yes.”

_Yes? YES!?_

“What do you mean ‘yes’?” Jaehyo’s not sure what’s going on anymore. Is he losing his mind?

“I agreed with you. You are right.”

Jaehyo looks at Jihoon-ssi, really _looks_ at him. The guy in front of him looks pretty normal, and he has a bit of a clean-cut college student look. He has short hair, recently trimmed, a clean face that’s well shaven with clear skin, and neat nails. He looks like a person, not a squirrel. He also does not look like a lunatic, but then again, what do lunatics look like?

“I’m not crazy, and neither are you,” Jihoon-ssi says, a hint of a smile in his eyes, almost as if he could read Jaehyo’s mind.

 _This is crazy. Did I actually die last night and is this what hell looks like?_ Jaehyo thinks, hugging his arms to his chest, and pinching his wrist. _Ouch_ , _it hurts_. He looks at Jihoon-ssi again, and is met by calm eyes still looking straight at him. _This is so crazy, but what the heck._

“If you are a squirrel, why do you look like a person?”

A hint of a smile tugs Jihoon-ssi’s lips upwards, “I’m not just _a_ squirrel, hyung. I’m the squirrel you saved. And this is not what I actually look like, but I can’t communicate with you as a squirrel.”

“Why do you even need to communicate with me?” Jaehyo is surprised at being called _hyung_ , but that’s the least of his concerns right now.

“You don’t have to believe me, but I’m here to help you.”

“Help me? Why do you want to help me?” This is getting stranger by the second, and Jaehyo’s out of his depth.

“You,” Jihoon-ssi takes a deep breath, “You almost killed yourself last night, didn’t you?”

A sharp intake of breath. _Breathe, Jaehyo, breathe_.

“So, you mean to say, you appeared to _save_ me?” Jaehyo laughs, incredulous now. The situation is beyond him, and he thinks his mind is falling to madness, judging by how he’s responding.

“I want to _help_ you,” Jihoon-ssi repeats, “And you looked like you needed help.”

“I’m not some damsel in distress,” Jaehyo hears himself say.

“I never said you are.” Jihoon-ssi runs a head through his hair, the first crack at his composure. “Just, just let me help you. For a while. It’s the least I can do, to repay you for saving me. I’ve paid your rent so you can stay here for another 2 months, at least.”

“Yeah, I know. I talked to the landlady this morning.”

“Oh,” Jihoon-ssi says, as if he hadn’t expected Jaehyo to do that.

“Yes, ‘oh’. So, Jihoon-ssi, if that is your name, if you are a squirrel who is here to help me, what exactly are you going to do?”

“Expose the _truth_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started off because I wanted to write something for a prompt I saw on [tumblr](http://writing-prompt-s.tumblr.com/post/145866781955/you-swerve-to-avoid-a-squirrel-unknown-to-you):  
>  _You swerve to avoid a squirrel. Unknown to you, the squirrel pledges a life debt to you. In your darkest hour, the squirrel arrives._
> 
> This is Jaehyo's darkest hour (metaphorical hour), and Jihoon's here to help expose the truth. The truth isn't nice, but other than that, things should start looking up afterwards. ^^ 
> 
> I hope you will enjoy this story :)


	3. Two

_II._

Jaehyo’s glad he’s already seated, because the implications of “the truth” shocks him. He’s not even sure if Jihoon-the-squirrel-ssi knows about _it_ , but if he does, then he probably thinks the same of him as all the other strangers who avoid him on the streets when they catch a glimpse of his face.

When Jaehyo peeks at Jihoon-ssi from behind his hands where they’ve reached to cover his surprise earlier, he doesn’t sense any judgement from Jihoon-ssi. There’s no accusation, no snide or rude comments, no pity.

Jihoon-ssi waits for Jaehyo to pull himself together, fingers tapping idly on the couch, rhythm oddly soothing. Jaehyo isn’t prepared to talk more about _the thing_ , so he decides to turn the questions back to other matters, “You haven’t answered why you look like a person when you are a squirrel, you know.”

Jihoon-ssi raises an eyebrow, like he wasn’t expecting Jaehyo to change topics, but he quickly settles back into a neutral expression, saying, “Well, even as a squirrel, I was sentient. I just took the form of a person because it’s easier to move around without raising suspicion.”

“You... _took_ the form of a person?” Jaehyo’s eyes rounded, eye whites obvious, “What does that mean? Did you possess someone or what?”

The eye roll Jihoon-ssi gives would make Jaehyo laugh, if he isn’t feeling a bit creeped out right now. “No, I can… what do you call it, _shape-shift_. Well, no, that isn’t really the best term, but just know that I am still a squirrel, as self-aware as I was in my original form, but I now _appear_ like a human.”

 _Right. Like that makes things better_ , Jaehyo thinks. He feels tension starting in the front of his head, and he scrunches his brows, fingers massaging his temples. When he felt warm fingers on his scalp, Jaehyo freezes, turning to see Jihoon-ssi hovering over him. After a beat when no one moves, Jihoon-ssi starts massaging his scalp, slowly kneading the tension away, and Jaehyo doesn’t make a move for him to stop.

 

 

That night, stocking snacks in the convenience store, his cap pulled low to hide his eyes, Jaehyo thinks about the strange conversation. He’s not sure if he fully believes Jihoon-ssi, but seeing how he was the only one on the road that day he avoided the squirrel, it’s not like anyone else would know about the incident.

Jaehyo had told the ambulance that came to the scene that he accidentally lost control of his steering wheel for a while because he it was a long journey, never mentioning the squirrel, which had been gone when Jaehyo got out of the car to inspect. He hadn’t been fully sure if there was really a squirrel anyway, because he might have imagined it due to the tiring trip, so he left it out of his statement. When he had realized that his forehead was slightly bloody, and his ankle felt funny, Jaehyo had called for an ambulance himself, because the road was deserted at the time of the night. Given the circumstances, it seems plausible that only Jaehyo and the squirrel would know what had happened.

Plausible _if_ the squirrel can indeed turn into a human, that is.

Finished with arranging the snacks, Jaehyo gets up to sort the drinks, and he hears the bell chime, indicating that he has a customer. He slouches a bit, hiding his full height, pulling the cap down and concentrates on the drinks in front of him. Hopefully no one will recognize him. He’s been lucky, really lucky so far that hardly anyone comes in after midnight, which is when his shift starts, so there haven’t been many who would recognize him.

He shuffles back to the cashier, in case the customer buys something, because he’s the only worker in the convenience store at this time, so there’s no one to man the cashier when he’s restocking items. With his cap pulled so low, Jaehyo isn’t able to see the customer’s face fully, but that’s a small inconvenience.

Because he couldn’t see the customer’s face, Jaehyo’s taken aback when the person across the counter says, “Jae…hyo?”

Although Jaehyo’s flustered, he takes the carton of milk in front of him, and forces himself to scan the barcode like normal, hoping that ignoring them would work. He doesn’t dare to speak, in case his voice gives his identity fully away, so he just points to the screen, indicating 900 won, and places both his hands out politely for the customer to hand him the money.

A 1000 won bill is placed on his outstretched palms, and Jaehyo shifts to place the bill in and get the change.

“I’m sorry for the mistake, but I thought you were… someone I knew,” the customer says when Jaehyo hands over the change and pushes the milk carton towards him.

The voice sounds familiar, but Jaehyo doesn’t look up to see who it is. He no longer has friends. Everyone whom he thought he was close to has been so quick to join the strangers in judging him once the rumors have been out. Given his word against the words of someone richer and with more power, most people, including those he thought were friends, had chosen to believe the other person’s lies over his. The betrayal stings still.

He hears the bell chime again, the sound of the customer walking out. Jaehyo doesn’t look to see who it is, because even if it’s someone who used to know him, that person has long lost his trust when they didn’t believe him, like the rest of the nation, once the rumors grew into headline news.

 

 

When Jaehyo gets home at 7 in the morning, the first thing he sees is Jihoon-ssi on the couch, stuffing fries into his mouth. He’s not sure how Jihoon-ssi had gotten fries at such an early hour, but the scene vaguely amuses him, and he lets out a low chuckle.

The sound makes Jihoon-ssi sit taller, his face scrunching up in Jaehyo’s direction. “Why are you laughing at me?”

“I’m not laughing at you,” Jaehyo smiles, one of the first genuine ones in a long while, and continues, “I’m just laughing because seeing you eat fries reminds me of this squirrel that used to hang around the fast food place near my school. It has a really messed up tail that looks like an over-used pipe cleaner missing most of its bristles, which we always guessed was because of all the fries it’s eaten over the years.”

Jaehyo doesn’t expect the explanation to make Jihoon-ssi stand up, putting the box of fries down to say with a tight voice, “Well, _I_ have a nice and bushy tail, alright. Even if I eat fries.”

He knows it’s not supposed to be funny, but Jaehyo bursts out in laughter. The indignant face Jihoon-ssi makes is kind of adorable, and Jaehyo lightly ruffles the other’s hair, even as Jihoon-ssi puffs his cheeks up, pouting.

Suddenly realizing that what he’s doing might be somewhat inappropriate, what’s with them knowing each other for only a day or so, Jaehyo steps back, heading into the kitchen under the guise of finding a glass of water. Jihoon-ssi settles back on the couch, picking up another fry which he dips generously into ketchup.

Jaehyo still has questions, but right now, after his shift, he really just wants to lie down in bed and sleep. He decides to save the questions he wants to ask Jihoon-ssi for after he wakes up. Jihoon-ssi assures him that he’ll be back around evening, so they can talk then.

Jaehyo doesn’t ask what Jihoon-ssi has to do from now till dinner time, because, even if (and that’s a big if, but one that Jaehyo is starting to accept as plausible) Jihoon-ssi is a squirrel, he has his own things to do, and Jaehyo isn’t his parent or guardian. That is Jaehyo’s last thought as he falls asleep on his bed.

 

 

The smell of eggs greets Jaehyo as he wakes up. Twisting around to check his bedside clock, Jaehyo rubs his eyes to clear his sleep-blurry vision. It’s around dinner time, and Jihoon-ssi has probably been back for a while. Jaehyo stumbles past the kitchen, his hair a mess, to get to the bathroom. As he closes the door for a shower, he hears Jihoon-ssi call out, “Dinner’s going to be ready soon. Don’t take too long.”

When he’s done showering and seated at the couch, a plate of scrambled eggs, with kimchi and stir-fried vegetables as side dishes on the table, Jaehyo gets a weird feeling in his stomach. It’s only a simple meal, but he can’t help but think about how long it has been since he’s eaten anything but microwaveable food. He thanks Jihoon-ssi for the meal, digging in ravenously. Jihoon-ssi just smiles at him, seeming pleased by how well Jaehyo is eating.

After the plates are cleared and washed, Jaehyo gets 2 glasses of water for the conversation he intends to have with Jihoon-ssi.

 

 

“So,” Jaehyo starts, “When you said ‘expose the truth’ yesterday, what did you mean by ‘the truth’?”

Jihoon-ssi nods like he had expected the question. “I meant… the scandal that you were involved in.”

“What do you know about it?” Jaehyo notices how his nails have turned white from gripping the glass too tightly, so he consciously relaxes his fingers.

“I’ve read all the news and articles that were released,” Jihoon-ssi pauses, “But I know they don’t tell the whole story.”

Jaehyo considers what Jihoon-ssi has just said. He’s not sure what Jihoon-ssi knows, or even why he didn’t immediately believed everything the reporters wrote, like so many others had. “Why do you think that’s not the whole story?” Jaehyo finally asks.

The look on Jihoon-ssi’s face can only be described as sheepish, or maybe a bit guilty? Jaehyo’s not sure why he would make such expressions until he hears him say, “I… I’ve seen what you did in the office with him.”

_Wait, what?_

“What do you mean? What did you see?” Jaehyo takes a sip of water just for something to do.

“Uh,” a flush is working its way up Jihoon-ssi’s neck, “I… I saw how the other guy initiated most of the…” the flush reaches the tips of his ears, “… sexual… stuff.”

Jaehyo’s probably gaping like a fish right now, eyes wide. He’s not sure if it’s because Jihoon-ssi had seen, or because someone besides Jaehyo knows that what was written in the news were lies and half-truths. He’s kind of glad someone’s on his side, he supposes, but Jaehyo could have done without the knowledge of being spied on –

“Wait, how did you even see us? We were quite sure there weren’t cameras or anything around and all…”

Jihoon-ssi is fully flushed right now, face red, fingers fidgeting. “Uh, the windows face a forest. You guys don’t really close the blinds, you know.”

Jaehyo still doesn’t really comprehend how Jihoon-ssi saw anything from the window facing a fully grown forest with lots of tall trees hiding the window from the view of any normal person, until he remembers that Jihoon-ssi isn’t a _person_.

“Were you spying on us as a _squirrel_? In the trees?”

“Uh, yea, I guess, I can see why you might call it that.”

Jaehyo takes a shaky breath, unsure of what he’s supposed to do. “So, I guess,” Jaehyo starts after a while, “You know that what they wrote about me seducing him wasn’t true.”

Jihoon-ssi nods.

Jaehyo swallows a lump forming in his throat before continuing, “We were having a relationship in secret, but we loved each other – or so I had thought – until the rumors of us leaked, and he… he dropped me like a hot potato to protect his reputation.”

“Yeah, I figured as much,” Jihoon-ssi offers, without any pity in his eyes.

“It wouldn’t have been so bad, I thought… I thought we could get through it, but then he just suddenly released a press conference saying that I had… seduced him, using him for sexual favours to climb the corporate ladder, and then I was fired. Just like that.”

This isn’t the first time Jaehyo has repeated the story of what happened, but it’s the first time someone is actually listening without jumping in to judge him. He hurriedly wipes the tears seeping out from the corners of his eyes, adding, “And that’s not even the worse part. Once that got out and made headline news, people shunned me, because they thought I was the evil third party coming between a successful business man and his wonderful and rich wife. And to top it all off, I was a guy, not a girl, and the repercussions were even greater.”

Somewhere along his recount, Jaehyo has started choking up, soft sobs hitching his breath, and Jihoon-ssi presses tissues into his hand, a hand slowly stroking his back. Jaehyo doesn’t mean to, but when Jihoon-ssi leans further in to put an arm around his shoulder, Jaehyo holds the tissues tightly to his eyes, crying his heart out the first time in months since the scandal happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very summarized version of the truth is out, guys! There's more than what Jaehyo told Jihoon, but you'll find out more in the later chapters. For now, I've not revealed the identity of the business man, but who do you think that might be?


	4. Three

_III._

Jihoon-ssi’s by his side, just gently holding Jaehyo until he stops sniffing, eyes swollen and red, but feeling somewhat lighter. They sit like this for what seems like a long time, until Jihoon-ssi reminds him that he has work in an hour. Jaehyo clears his throat, thanking Jihoon-ssi for listening, but in his mind, he’s already grateful for all the other things Jihoon-ssi has done for him in the short time he was here. _Like getting my life back to a sense of normalcy_ , Jaehyo thinks, not using the word “normal” ironically for once, and coming to terms with the fact that this life, this job at the convenience store is now his normal routine.

 

 

When Jaehyo gets back home in the early morning after his shift, Jihoon-ssi is already at the door, wearing his shoes, ready to head out. Jaehyo takes in the outfit Jihoon-ssi has on, different from the sweaters and casual button-ups he usually wears. The white shirt has been ironed, a well-fitted navy blazer on top, and smart, neatly pressed slacks paired with an elegant belt. The dress shoes Jihoon-ssi is lacing up are dark brown oxfords, polished to shine. There’s a brown leather messenger bag sitting by the umbrella stand, probably also Jihoon-ssi’s.

“Heading out?” Jaehyo asks, taking off his sneakers, holding back the question of “Where are you going?”. Despite everything that’s happened, Jaehyo still doesn’t think he’s close enough to Jihoon-ssi to be privy to such information, and he tries not to overstep the line between… roommates? The person who saved a squirrel and said squirrel? Jaehyo shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. He shouldn’t think so hard on what he is to other people, especially to Jihoon-ssi who is almost-certainly not human, and whom human standards of relationships probably don’t apply.

“Yes, I’m going out, but I will be back around dinner time. Don’t worry,” Jihoon-ssi says with a smile, and Jaehyo manages to get out a “Bye, I’ll cook dinner this time!” before Jihoon-ssi disappears down the stairs that leads from their rooftop house to the street.

Throwing off his cap, Jaehyo finds some kimbap in the fridge, eating as he finds his towel to go shower. He falls asleep easily after he’s clean.

 

 

When Jaehyo wakes up, it’s with the mild panic of realizing he had forgotten to set an alarm so he could make dinner like he had told Jihoon-ssi. He picks up his bedside clock, sighing in relief to find that it is only 3 in the afternoon. _Plenty of time to cook dinner_ , he thinks. In fact, as he stretches, getting out of bed, Jaehyo notes that he feels good enough that he thinks he should clean up the house a bit.

He remembers to set an alarm for 5pm, to remind him to start cooking dinner, after checking the contents in his refrigerator. Jihoon-ssi had probably stocked up before he cooked dinner yesterday, when Jaehyo had been sleeping. Jaehyo gets his broom and dustpan, ready to sweep before mopping the floor. It’s already a good start.

It isn’t long before Jaehyo’s almost done with the mopping, left only with his bedroom. He’s putting effort into doing a good job until he spots something shiny under his bed. Lying flat on his stomach so he can stretch his arm to the far end of the bed, Jaehyo’s momentarily surprised when his fingers close around something cold. The belt that he pulls out has a shiny rectangular clasp, with a single “J” engraved on the back.

***

 

When Jaehyo first took on the job as the secretary of Chairman Woo, he hadn’t been that dumb to think he won’t eventually witness acts of transgression, illicit activities the Chairman indulges in in the office, away from the watchful eyes of his powerful wife. Even if there had been no rumors, the way Chairman Woo and his wife behaved in public spoke of a marriage born of power and relations, not love, but Jaehyo accepted the job nonetheless, because he had truly admired Chairman Woo’s passion for running the company even if he thinks the man might be cheating on his wife. Personal affairs of his colleagues and superiors were not his concern; Jaehyo had just wished to learn from the passionate man who had grown this company so big from his drive and dedication despite being so young.

Of course, in spite of knowing all these, Jaehyo hadn’t quite expected to see Chairman Woo with his hair mussed up, tie slightly askew as the man exited his office, walking towards Jaehyo’s desk on the first day of work. A look at the Chairman’s red and swollen lips and the hint of a lipstick stain hidden by the shirt collar left little room for doubt in Jaehyo’s mind regarding what had just happened in the office.

“Give me your belt,” the Chairman had said, and Jaehyo quickly unfastened his belt to hand over, trying not to be intimidated by the scary look of his superior. It was only after the Chairman returned to his office, the door closed again, that Jaehyo had let himself cover his face with his hands, wondering if he should have just stayed as a manager in a lower department.

 

 

Later, when Jaehyo had placed a stack of documents on Chairman Woo’s desk, he hadn’t expected the Chairman to start flipping through them immediately, easily finding the post-it that Jaehyo had stuck inside. The slight widening of the Chairman’s eyes as he read what was written made Jaehyo want to fidget, but he controlled himself, trying to not flinch under the intense glare that was turned towards him.

“I didn’t expect you would do such an accurate assessment of the companies that we are considering to buy over.”

“I’m the secretary to the Chairman of this company; shouldn’t I have some capabilities, at least?” Jaehyo heard himself say, almost regretting the words until the Chairman smiled at him, eyes turning gentler.

“I thought you were just a pretty face,” had been the Chairman’s reply, his bland tone of voice hiding a grin that turned his face younger.

“I’ll have you know that my face isn’t the only thing that’s pretty,” Jaehyo had said, referring to his beautiful mind, but realizing immediately how flirtatious the sentence sounds. The low chuckle the Chairman gave indicated that he had probably gotten the wrong idea, and Jaehyo had quickly excused himself.

 

 

The time Jaehyo spent at work passed quickly, and the passion of the Chairman motivated him to do better, willingly spending a good amount of his time outside work to continue studying business trends. Jaehyo hadn’t had time to think about much besides work, which was why he forgot he had given his only belt to the Chairman a few weeks prior, and never bought a new one afterwards, until a shiny new belt, neatly wrapped in a sleek grey box was placed in his hands.

“For you,” the Chairman had said simply, but Jaehyo had caught the unsure look in his eyes as he peeked under his eyelashes to observe Jaehyo’s reaction to the gift.

“Thank you,” Jaehyo had said, ready to leave, but the Chairman stood up, walking over to remove the belt from its packaging. Jaehyo had ended up standing stiffly when he realized the belt was being threaded through the loops of his pants, only relaxing after the Chairman closed the clasp and sat back down at his desk.

“When it’s just the 2 of us, I’ll like it if you call me Jiho,” the Chairman had said, lacing his fingers together, “I’m younger than you anyway.”

Jaehyo had nodded, too stunned in the moment to process everything that had happened. When he had got home that night, he noticed a small “J” engraved on the back of the belt clasp. _J for Jiho, or J for Jaehyo_ , he had wondered, thumb gliding over the indention.

***

 

The sharp ringing of the alarm he set earlier jolts Jaehyo out of the trip down memory lane from finding the belt. He opens his wardrobe, putting the belt into a drawer he rarely opens, before quickly finishing his mopping so that he can start preparing dinner.

Jaehyo’s tasting the kimchi jjigae he’s made when he hears the front door open. He’s startled by the sudden contact of Jihoon-ssi who’s snatching his spoon to steal a taste of the soup, whose face is breaking into a grin after his mouth closes around the spoon. When Jihoon-ssi praises him for the taste,  Jaehyo feels his face heat up, which he attributes to the spiciness of the soup, and not the comforting sense of familiarity of Jihoon-ssi being nearby, especially when he doesn’t know much about the guy, like… like what his favourite food is.

“Nachos.”

Jihoon-ssi’s voice is low and serious, and Jaehyo takes in the fact that he must have said the last bit out loud, only to be rendered speechless when Jihoon-ssi continues, “And I’m glad you feel comfortably familiar with me, because I feel the same about you too.”

_Shit, I must have said the whole thing out loud._

Stirring the soup instead of acknowledging Jihoon-ssi’s comment, Jaehyo ponders over whether he should stop thinking of Jihoon-ssi as someone he doesn’t know simply because he hasn’t met the other for more than a few days, and just accept the fact that despite their short meeting, he’s gotten more comfortable with the other than a lot of the people he had previously called friends. Maybe he can start by dropping the “ssi” when he addresses Jihoon.

Over dinner, Jaehyo tries referring to Jihoon without the “ssi” and in return receives a big smile from the man across the table. They chat idly about what happened when Jaehyo was working last night (nothing interesting, which is good news when he’s lying low), and Jaehyo decides to asks Jihoon where he went during the day.

“Interview,” Jihoon says, mouth full with rice, taking a spoonful of soup to make it go down.

“What kind of interview?”

“A job at your old company,” Jihoon answers, head lowered from trying to scoff down steamed egg rolls, and Jaehyo doesn’t fully understand what he has just heard.

“…what? Why?” The words tumble off Jaehyo’s lips, his brows still knitted, uncomprehending.

“Because, I’ve thought about it, and there’re only 2 ways to expose the truth,” Jihoon replies evenly, putting down his chopsticks. “Either you get rich and influential enough for people to believe your side of the story, or _he_ has to be exposed for lying.”

There is a sudden seriousness in the air that wasn’t there previously, and Jaehyo holds back a shiver. “The first one probably won’t work. People don’t even listen to me when I tell my side of the story, how am I going to get anywhere near rich and influential…” Jaehyo mumbles, trailing off, his thoughts getting disorganized and hazy.

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m getting the job at your old place. So that I can get concrete evidence of the Chairman’s illicit affairs and photos of his infidelity,” Jihoon’s staring at Jaehyo, concern clear on his face, and Jaehyo blinks to clear the fog shrouding his thoughts. It sounds reasonably enough, but –

“Don’t worry, I got the job already. And I know it won’t fully restore your life to what it was, but exposing the Chairman for what he is should reduce the heat of the scandal, and hopefully give you a normal life again.” The smile Jihoon gives doesn’t fully reach his eyes, but Jaehyo thinks it might be on account of the tears pooling in his eyes. He reaches to hug Jihoon over the table, thinking, _thank you so much, Jihoon-ah_.

“It won’t be the same life you’ve had before, but it’ll be more normal than what it is now, I hope,” Jihoon says softly against Jaehyo’s hair, and Jaehyo closes his eyes to prevent the tears from spilling over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The businessman (or Chairman, actually) makes an appearance. Are you surprised at who it is? Lol. I guess once I edit the tags, no one will be particularly surprised anymore, but I wanted to delay that until at least until this chapter is posted.
> 
> Also, Jaehyo might seem kind of weak but he's really just very burdened by the situation. He's fully capable of taking care of himself, even if he's letting Jihoon run the direction right now. I just felt like pointing that out because I like seeing the strong manly side of Jaehyo, even if people usually focus on his pretty boy looks.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like how the story is going, let me know what you think :)


	5. Four

_IV._

A day passes, then another. Jaehyo’s lulled into the simple routine of making dinner for when Jihoon comes back from work, and in turn eating the breakfast Jihoon makes for when Jaehyo’s shift ends. There’s only 1 bed in the house, but after the first few nights, Jaehyo tells Jihoon he can sleep on the bed instead of the couch. It isn’t like they both need to sleep at the same time anyway; might as well take advantage of their completely opposite schedules.

In some way, the way Jihoon lives in the day, while Jaehyo spends his active hours at night (though not entirely by choice) parallels their disposition. Jihoon’s bright, warm and he’s scarily honest about his feelings most of the time, while Jaehyo’s mostly grey, dark thoughts swimming in foggy light with his own feelings and thoughts so convoluted that sometimes that he doesn’t know how to untangle any of it. It isn’t that Jihoon is easy to read, because Jaehyo still can’t understand how the guy works, but uncovering Jihoon might be much easier than unravelling himself, even if he lives in his own body and mind.

While Jihoon leaves for work, Jaehyo grows used to lying down alone in mussed up sheets that smell faintly of the body wash they share, mixed with the smell of Jihoon. He isn’t sure when it had happened but somewhere along the way, the light of Pyo Jihoon has rubbed off him, a bit. Jaehyo finds more clarity in his thoughts, spending less time dwelling, or even revelling in the pit of emptiness. He recognizes the foggy haze clouding his days as nonchalance towards life and things in general, well aware that that is probably more worrying than the initial frustration, anger and rage he had felt after he got dumped and fired. Jaehyo still gets sucked into the spiraling void sometimes, but he has enough sense of mind to walk himself back into the happier thoughts, or at least avoid the dark ones.

Jaehyo’s so focused on how he’s getting better, how he and Jihoon get into a familiar pattern of sharing the house and their habits that he forgets. He forgets all the bad things and all the hardship he endured, because there’s something _more_ in the present now than there is in the issues of his past.

He forgets.

 

 

It’s one of the midnight shift at the convenience store when Jaehyo’s casually restocking chips when he hears a song he doesn’t know the title of playing on the radio, and Jaehyo remembers where he was the last time he heard the song.

***

 

He was lying with his head on Jiho’s lap in his office, late after work had ended. Jiho’s tie was loose around his neck, but neatly dressed otherwise. The door was locked. Jiho’s long fingers were slowly threading through his hair, catching every once in a while on some tangled dry spots where Jaehyo didn’t spread conditioner evenly on. The tugs weren’t really pleasant, but the general patting was comfortable, and Jaehyo had closed his eyes, savoring the quiet moment they shared with only the radio playing softly in the background.

Jiho liked having some music on most of the time, and Jaehyo hadn’t minded, because sometimes, with his eyes closed and Jiho touching him idly for closeness rather than for something more, Jaehyo had felt a peaceful kind of satisfaction that might be bliss. Times like those, Jaehyo had imagined what they might have been, if Jiho wasn’t a Chairman and Jaehyo his secretary, having a secret affair.

He hadn’t planned on getting close to Jiho in this way at all, and Jaehyo wasn’t sure if the ugly twist in his chest when he saw Jiho with his wife at events was jealousy or if the hollow squeeze in his stomach when he stole moments of Jiho away from work was guilt. Jaehyo didn’t know how he had slowly let Woo Jiho worm his way into his figurative heart, and when he had stopped caring about the wrongness of this illicit relationship. Instead, he learnt to take what he could get in the moment, the way Jiho did. Nothing felt inexplicably right the way popular culture told him they should, but Jaehyo thought the small moments of bliss were good enough. He was greedy; he was so happy with whatever scraps of Jiho he could get.

When Jiho had leaned in to press a kiss to his chapped lips, Jaehyo had returned it with a fervor he didn’t know he had, as the song trailed off in the background.

***

 

“Jaehyo?”

Jaehyo’s looking up from the shelves, instinctively reacting to his name because he forgot. He forgot he’s still a disgraced figure in public; that he’d taken on this graveyard shift to lie low. He forgot, and that’s how he gets a picture of him taken.

 

 

Pulling his cap way low on the walk home, Jaehyo counts himself lucky that it had only been Kyung. Kyung was one of the people he used to call friends, although Jaehyo supposes, he’s technically Jiho’s friend first. Kyung doesn’t work at Jiho’s company, but he had visited often enough that Jaehyo had found himself chatting with the talkative man.

Although Kyung took a photo of Jaehyo while he was caught off-guard in the store, he had quickly deleted the photo under Jaehyo’s watchful eye once he realized that Jaehyo wasn’t letting him go otherwise. The height Jaehyo has over the shorter man, combined with the hard look he’d learnt to give to nosy strangers had come in handy. Kyung had hurriedly left with an “I’m sorry”, the words heavy with more meaning than for the secret photo he took.

Hand gripping the railing as he climbs the stairs to his house, Jaehyo feels the tiredness that had been held at bay with adrenaline and worry wash over him now, and his stomach grumbles at the thought of food. The sun’s shining fully now, although it’s still low in the sky, and Jaehyo breathes in the fresh morning air, letting the proximity of his house and the knowledge that Jihoon’s just a door away comfort him.

 

 

“Hyung, you’re back!” Jihoon’s smiling at him, eyes forming little crescents, and Jaehyo manages a smile in response. He doesn’t think he should tell Jihoon about the incident with Kyung since he’s managed to resolve it, so he just flops onto the couch, picking up the glass of juice Jihoon’s placed on the table. Jaehyo lets Jihoon’s husky voice soothe him, and he doesn’t know when he fell asleep, because the next thing he knows, he’s waking up to Jihoon shaking him gently.

“Hyung, are you very tired? Your eyes started closing while I was talking, and you almost dropped the glass,” Jihoon’s looking at him, concerned, and Jaehyo blinks a few times, before he finds his voice to say, “I think I should go and sleep first.”

He isn’t sure if him falling asleep on Jihoon while getting to the room is because he’s more exhausted by the shock of seeing Kyung than he thought, or if it’s because he feels comfortable enough about Jihoon, trusts him even, to fall asleep then and there.

 

 

Jihoon hasn’t returned when Jaehyo wakes up, which is the norm now that Jaehyo isn’t sleeping more than half his day away. Jaehyo showers and changes. He finds the grocery list Jihoon has stuck to the refrigerator with a magnet, getting his wallet so he can go out to restock their fridge. After the scare with Kyung yesterday (or the wee hours of the morning today, technically), Jaehyo adds sunglasses in addition the snapback he wears for disguise when he heads out, aware that he’s being paranoid because he’s only heading to a small local mart, and not the supermarket. The mart is where he gets most of his things now, because the old couple that runs the store hardly keeps up with the news, and the patrons are mostly elderly ladies who don’t own televisions so they’ve not heard of the scandal.

Jaehyo doesn’t realize he’s been biting his lower lip, a habit he has when he’s concentrating on something, like finding the right brand of groceries while keeping an eye out for strangers, until he tastes the metallic tang of blood. While he doesn’t usually bite his lips to the point of it cracking and bleeding, it has definitely happened more times than he remembers, so Jaehyo merely licks his lips and dabs the surface blood off with the back of his hands. He continues finding items off the list, adding a lip balm into his basket once he’s done, then heads to the cashier.

At the cashier, which is really just a counter with an old till machine, Jaehyo waits for the old couple to check out his groceries. The old ahjumeoni ambles over, and behind her, Jaehyo sees the white-haired ahjussi struggling with a cardboard box. The old lady turns at the sounds of her husband stumbling, and Jaehyo rushes over to hold the box before it falls or injure any of them, because it’s clear that the box is much too heavy for the elderly shop keepers to manage.

“Thank you, young man, would you mind helping us move this over to the shelf there?”

Jaehyo obliges, lifting the box and placing it where he’s directed, surprised that the ahjussi had managed to carry the weight despite his age and frail frame. He walks back to the counter once he’s done, and the old lady starts keying in his items one by one on the machine, because they don’t have scanners or any of the new equipment. It takes a while, but she starts an inane chat, and Jaehyo finds himself responding with an occasional sound of agreement. When she’s done, and Jaehyo has paid, he loads the groceries into plastic bags by himself, not wanting to trouble the old couple.

“Won’t it be nice if a young man like you is around to help us move heavy things once in a while huh?”

Jaehyo looks up at the ahjussi’s comment, and sees the ahjumeonni nodding, and he wonders if this is an invitation for a job. When he asks, he’s answered with a twinkle in the old man’s eyes, followed by questions of when he could start working. After telling them that he works from 12pm to 7am at a nearby convenience store, the old couple asks if it would be too much for him to come in from 8am to 11am to help them bring in the new stock and heavy boxes, since that is when deliveries come. Last night being an exception, Jaehyo’s usually not that tired when he finishes his shift, and 3 hours of mundane lifting of groceries and boxes doesn’t sound too difficult, so he agrees. He could do with an additional source of income, even if Jihoon’s working as well. It doesn’t hurt to save up while he can.

 

 

When Jihoon’s back, Jaehyo tells him about the new job he’s gotten. They’re seating facing each other, eating when Jaehyo says this news casually, and he didn’t think it’ll be a big thing, but Jihoon’s giving him a look of concern, saying, “Why are you taking another part-time job?”

“The mart is run by an old couple and they could really use some help with moving heavy items, so why not? It won’t affect too many things, and I can earn extra money on the side,” Jaehyo states.

“Oh,” Jihoon breathes out, “I guess it’s for a good reason.”

There’s a pause before Jihoon speaks again, in a small voice this time, his head lowered and looking at his rice bowl, “But it means I won’t get to see you before I leave for work. We won’t be able to have breakfast together.”

Jaehyo hasn’t thought of that, and he’s surprised again by how honest and open Jihoon is about his thoughts. He reaches a hand over to cover Jihoon’s hand resting on the table, offering, “I didn’t think of that when I agreed, but we’ll still be able to have dinner together, right?”

Jihoon gives a small nod, and Jaehyo isn’t sure how they got to this point where Jihoon gets upset that he won’t be able to have breakfast with him in the morning when just a month ago they were strangers. Given how their schedules don’t match, breakfast and dinner are about the only time they see each other, and Jaehyo can sort of understand why Jihoon is upset, but the extent of upset Jihoon is at isn’t what Jaehyo expects. Then again, maybe Jaehyo just takes longer to warm up to people than Jihoon does. Jaehyo pats Jihoon’s hand a few times, and picks up his chopsticks to resume eating, because he doesn’t know what to say to comfort the man.

 

 

A few days passes as they settle into the new routine, Jaehyo heading straight to the mart once he’s done with his shift, where the old couple gives him a kimbap for breakfast before he starts work, while Jihoon makes breakfast for 1 instead of the double serving he’s used to. Jihoon isn’t around when Jaehyo returns from work, and dinner time has to be shifted slightly later because Jaehyo’s too tired to wake up at his usual 5pm to start making dinner now that he’s sleeping at 1pm instead of 9am. Jihoon accepts the change in dinner time by taking a shower before dinner while Jaehyo cooks. It’s becoming familiar again, their days.

While Jihoon’s in the shower, and the stew is boiling, Jaehyo recalls that he had finished the shampoo when he showered earlier, and he finds a new bottle to pass to Jihoon through the bathroom door. Actually, he’s kind of surprised that Jihoon has been in the shower for 10 minutes now but hasn’t asked for a new bottle of shampoo, but Jaehyo considers that maybe not everyone shampoos before they soap their body, so it’s not a big deal.

He’s knocking on the bathroom door, shampoo bottle in head, and he hears Jihoon move around as he yells out a, “Give me a minute.”

Jaehyo waits by the door, checking the wall clock for when a minute’s up, and he twists the knob, not expecting it to turn (who doesn’t lock their door when they use the toilet?), but it does, and because he had been leaning too much weight on the door, assuming that it would be locked, Jaehyo stumbles into the bathroom. The shriek Jihoon gives as Jaehyo collides into him is undignified, and Jaehyo would laugh if he isn’t so busy trying not to fall to the ground. As it is, they managed to stay standing once Jaehyo recovers his balance, and Jihoon’s quickly tugging a t-shirt over his head. Jaehyo finds the shampoo bottle on the floor while his brain takes in the fact that Jihoon only had pants on when he had accidentally opened the bathroom door. He’s bending down to pick up the dropped bottle, recalling the picture of Jihoon he had caught while falling: topless, mouth rounded in a surprised “oh”, clutching his t-shirt to his chest like he’s a girl who needs to cover her boobs –

Wait. Were there _red marks_ on Jihoon’s chest?

Jaehyo’s head whips up, taking in Jihoon who’s now fully dressed and looking at him, and his mouth opens before he had time to consider his words, “Are those hickeys?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this chapter! 
> 
> Kyungie makes an appearance, and if you recall, there was another customer who recognized Jaehyo in an earlier chapter... is it Kyung? Is it someone else?
> 
> Also, Jaehyo isn't the most observant narrator, and his assumption that Jihoon's open and honest isn't completely true, if the cliffhanger at the end hasn't clued you in yet. I hope you'll anticipate the next chapter with me, and I'll love to hear what you think of the story so far :)


	6. Five

_V._

Jihoon’s staring at him with wide eyes, and Jaehyo sees what might be guilt ( _guilt?_ ) crawling over his face.

“Are those really hickeys?” Jaehyo asks again, because Jihoon hasn’t answered, having half a mind to just lift up Jihoon’s shirt to check with his own eyes. He refrains himself, because but it isn’t his right to, squeezing the shampoo bottle he holds in his hand instead.

There’s a gurgling sound of water splashing out of the pot, and Jihoon looks towards the kitchen, and then passes by Jaehyo to turn off the stove. Jaehyo had forgotten about the stew. He wrings the bottle as he watches Jihoon remove the lid of the pot, taking a cloth to wipe up the soup that’s spilled over. Jaehyo watches Jihoon move, mind going blank now. He closes his eyes and takes in a shaky breath.

“What- Wh-Why are you evading my question, Jihoon?” Jaehyo gets out, after failing to voice out the many questions going through his head right now, “Are you hiding something?”

Jihoon freezes on the spot, and Jaehyo can see the tension in his neck as he pauses midway while rinsing out the cloth. Jaehyo doesn’t want this, whatever this is. This game of questions and answers, this secret that Jihoon has, this tenseness in a man so cheerfully bright otherwise. Jaehyo really doesn’t want nor need any of this.

“Sit down first. I’ll explain while we eat,” Jihoon finally says, still unmoving. Jaehyo can’t read the meanings in the stillness of Jihoon’s back, so he gives up trying.

Jaehyo’s looking at the floor as he walks stiffly to the couch where they always eat, placing the shampoo on the floor when he finally notices that he hasn’t let go of it. Jihoon places the pot on some magazines on the table, and returns for rice. Jaehyo just sits without saying a word, as numbness takes over him.

Jihoon’s peering at Jaehyo, and Jaehyo just waits. He has so many questions, but Jihoon hasn’t answered the first one, so he doesn’t think asking more right now would get the other to talk. It seems to be the right strategy, because eventually Jihoon sighs, and speaks first.

“Why aren’t you talking?”

That isn’t the response Jaehyo’s been waiting for, so he just raises an eyebrow, and chews his rice.

After a while, Jihoon sighs again, running a hand through his hair, “Is it important whether those are hickeys? They could be birthmarks, you know.”

“Are they though?” Jaehyo hears himself say, “If they were, you would have just answered my question, instead of evading them.”

Jihoon takes in the unblinking stare Jaehyo’s giving him, and he relents, “Yeah, okay. Yes, they are hickeys. What does it matter if I have hickeys? I’m a grown man, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, you are,” Jaehyo concedes. “It doesn’t affect me what you do outside,” Jaehyo looks steadily at Jihoon until he nods, before continuing, “More than the fact that you have hickeys, it’s that you are hiding them from me like there’s a bigger secret.”

Jaehyo picks up a slight nervousness from Jihoon at the word “secret” and the worst possible scenario suddenly leaps into his mind –

“Are those from Jiho?”

 

 

Jaehyo hears what Jihoon says about how it’s not what he thinks; that yes, these are from Jiho but nothing’s going on between them, and really, he’s still trying to get those photos and evidence to expose the Chairman so nothing has changed. Jaehyo hears all this but he doesn’t register most of it, except the part where Jihoon has called the Chairman “Jiho”, because there is only 1 reason for him to call the Chairman that.

He’s still trying to figure out whether he had heard wrongly, when Jihoon’s saying, “Jaehyo, I didn’t want to tell because I didn’t want you to think I’m not helping you expose the truth –“

“When you say expose the truth now, won’t _you_ be personally involved as well?” Jaehyo interrupts, catching the brief surprise Jihoon has on his face before he resumes a more neutral expression. He had assumed that Jihoon was working in the company so he can get photos of the Chairman’s affairs with _other_ people, not with Jihoon himself.

“Don’t worry about me, I won’t be affected by it,” Jihoon states, looking at Jaehyo with concern, and Jaehyo wants to laugh, because he should be concerned for himself and what he’s gotten himself into.

“Do you realize what you are doing? You’re going to end up going through what I did. Even if you have photos, you’ll just end up exposing the Chairman for his affairs, but he’s not going to suffer for it,” Jaehyo finds himself gritting out, anger slowly building.

Jihoon looks a bit deflated now, and Jaehyo reels in his anger. “Look, I’m sorry for sounding harsh, but you do realize that this, whatever thing you’re doing that involves the Chairman, won’t turn out well, and not only will it not expose him as a liar who seduces his employees, but it’ll drag you into a scandal?” Jaehyo tries his best to sound calm, or at least neutral, and Jihoon curls up where he’s sitting on the couch.

“It’s not what you think it is, and I have a way to let everyone know that the Chairman has wronged and betrayed you,” Jihoon finally says, and Jaehyo lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Okay, let’s say that’s true, but you are… somewhat personally involved, and if a scandal breaks out, you’ll be bearing the brunt of it, you know that, right?”

Jihoon looks up into Jaehyo’s eyes, then lowers them, mumbling, “Doesn’t matter. I won’t be staying as a human for long.”

 _Oh_. Jaehyo hasn’t even considered this, so used to Jihoon that he has forgotten that he is a squirrel and not human. He licks his lips, tasting the slight tinge of blood from when he bit too hard some time during the conversation, and says after opening and closing his mouth a few times, “I-I don’t know what to say now.”

The hand on his arm comes as a surprise, as Jihoon smiles sadly at him, saying, “It’s alright. I know what I’m doing.”

When Jihoon lets go, gathering up the empty dishes to wash, Jaehyo slumps into the seat, fingers reaching up to pinch his nose bridge. He’s not sure if he trusts Jihoon’s words, but he really wants to.

 

 

There aren’t any photos of Jiho with Jihoon or anyone else popping up in the news or media, but Jaehyo doesn’t stop tracking all the websites. He knows Jihoon had told him that he’s being careful, that he won’t get wrapped up in a scandal, and that his relationship with the Chairman isn’t what Jaehyo thinks it is, but Jaehyo worries nonetheless. He doesn’t see Jihoon much, except at dinner time, but even that is getting rarer because Jihoon comes back late from work, smelling like smoke and alcohol, just minutes before Jaehyo has to head out to the convenience store for work.

Jihoon doesn’t look drunk, and his breath never smells like alcohol, but the smell clings on his clothing along with the ashy smell of smoke, and Jaehyo doesn’t know if he’s been drinking or not. He would ask, but Jihoon always dismisses the question, saying he knows what he’s doing, and asks Jaehyo to please trust him and be patient.

Jaehyo doesn’t know if he can do either.

So instead, he grabs his jacket and heads out without a word.

 

 

Jaehyo’s sitting behind the cashier, flipping through the newspapers during the lull of his shift, when the bell rings. He doesn’t look up, face still hidden by the newspapers in front of him; just grabs his cap from where he’s taken it off to place it back on his messy hair, waiting for the customer to buy what they need and be gone so he can go back to the papers.

When the customer taps the counter to get his attention, Jaehyo puts his newspapers away, standing up to scan the purchases, except there’s nothing on the counter. He risks a quick glance at the customer to see if they’re holding anything to buy, but instead realizes that he recognizes the man in front of him. It’s Kyung again.

Jaehyo sinks a bit, and he tiredly rubs his face, not bothering to hide since he hadn’t gotten any trouble after he last saw the man. “Are you buying anything? If not, please leave,” Jaehyo grumbles, and Kyung just stares at him.

After what seems like ages with no words passing between them, Jaehyo is getting ready to just sit back down on his chair, when Kyung says, “He’s sorry, you know.”

 _What?_ Jaehyo narrows his eyes at the fidgeting man in front of him, wondering if he had correctly understood what Kyung means. Before he can ask, Kyung makes a quick bow, and runs out of the store.

_What just happened?_

 

 

After ending both of his work shifts and sleeping, Jaehyo tidies up the house, finding empty bags of nacho chips in the living room. He dumps them into the bin, wondering why Jihoon hadn’t cleared them himself, and starts making dinner for 2. Even though Jihoon isn’t home for dinner more often than not lately, Jaehyo still cooks for both of them, just in case. If Jihoon doesn’t eat his portion, Jaehyo can just eat the leftovers for lunch after work anyway, he reasons.

When Jihoon comes back around 9 in the evening, later than when he first started working, but earlier than the previous few nights, Jaehyo scoops a bowl of rice for him. Jaehyo’s own bowl is already half gone, but he waits until Jihoon settles down before he resumes eating.

Jihoon places a plastic container on the table, peeling off the lid and cling wrap, and Jaehyo sees japchae.

“What’s the occasion?” Jaehyo asks, waving his chopsticks over the new dish.

“What occasion?” Jihoon asks innocently, digging in to the meal. “I just bought this on the way back because it smells really good.”

Jaehyo chews and nods. He supposes Jihoon won’t have reason to know that japchae is usually only eaten at parties or special occasions. It’s not like a squirrel should be expected to know Korean customs.

The rest of the evening passes fairly insignificantly, and Jaehyo only remembers the empty chip bags he had found when he finds Jihoon munching on nachos with the television on mute in the background.

“You should throw your own rubbish once you’re done eating. I had to dump 4 of these empty bags for you today,” Jaehyo comments, and Jihoon turns to look at him.

“Okay. I won’t do it again,” Jihoon says, eyes unreadable as he turns back to the television, finding the remote to unmute it.

Whatever Jaehyo was going to reply is forgotten when he hears what the newscaster says on television.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should really be updating my other ongoing fic (it's a [GOT7 Buzzfeed AU](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7187915/chapters/16313120) if you want to check it out) but I have the flow for this one going, and I want to write as much as I can. ^^
> 
> There's probably going to be another chapter and an epilogue before this fic ends, and I hope you enjoy this chapter with the various hints and reveals. Things will be clearer next chapter. Do you trust Jihoon or are you with Jaehyo on being undecided? Let me know what you think :)


	7. Six

_VI._

_“…following the scandal that happened last winter, the Chairman of Woo Enterprise has issued a press conference revealing his extramarital affairs, and that he will be stepping down from his position…”_

_What?_ Jaehyo’s mind is a blank, and he grabs the back of the couch, because he doesn’t know whether his legs will give out on him suddenly. _What did the news just say?_ He turns to look at Jihoon, who’s still staring at the television screen, and Jaehyo realizes there’s more –

_“…apologizes for his unfaithful behaviour, and for lying about his active role in his relationship with his past secretary who had been unfairly disgraced in the scandal…”_

Jaehyo feels his legs wobble, and he’s lucky he lands mostly on the couch when he falls, because he can’t believe what he’s hearing.

 

 

When Jaehyo finally collects himself, he notices that Jihoon has already turned off the television. Jihoon’s looking at him with concern, although the nachos that steadily make their way into his mouth interrupt the seriousness of the scene. They spend a few minutes like that, Jaehyo staring at Jihoon, Jihoon holding the gaze but still intently eating nachos, until Jaehyo finally thinks to say, “Was that what you were talking about? Is this what you meant when you told me to be patient and to trust you?”

Jaehyo doesn’t know what’s more ridiculous, the picture he paints, half lying on the couch where he’s fallen, asking what sounds like questions based on farfetched assumptions, or Jihoon nodding slowly to those question, serious.

“What– How?” is all Jaehyo manages to get out, and Jihoon’s answering like he had expected this.

“I didn’t have to do much, actually. Jiho– he was already guilt stricken with how he had lied about the scandal, and I just listened and talked to him until he decided to tell the truth himself and resign. ”

Jaehyo’s more confused now, because what did Jihoon just say? _Jiho? Guilt stricken?_ Jaehyo would scoff, memories of how Jiho had been so cruel after the scandal broke out, accusing Jaehyo of seducing him when the opposite might have been closer to the truth, and how when Jaehyo tried to call him to get an explanation only to learnt that Jiho’s number was no longer in use. Jaehyo would scoff, except he suddenly remembers the cryptic line Kyung had said earlier in the convenience store: _“He’s sorry, you know.”_

Gripping the seat tightly, and sitting up too straight, Jaehyo considers what he’s just learnt, and blurts out, “I-is this… for real?”

The hand that reaches over to pats his arm is warm, and Jaehyo doesn’t realize he has tears in his eyes, until a drop splashes onto Jihoon’s hand, leaving a wet trail as it slides off. _Why am I crying?_ Jaehyo wipes his eyes, clenching his jaw as he tries to processes the situation in a more logical light, but he’s just _feeling_ , emotional, and he can’t seem to grasp anything concrete about the whole thing.

“What is going on? Why– How did this happen?”

 

 

After Jihoon gets a warm cup of tea for Jaehyo, he explains everything. Jaehyo listens with his hands wrapped around the mug, glad for the warmth it gives, balancing it on his knees so he won’t drop it. Jihoon explains how he had gone to work at a desk position at Woo Enterprise initially to get photos or video recordings of Jiho’s affairs so he could expose it to the media, but one day, he had been called to bring coffee to Jiho’s office when his new secretary was on leave. When he had gone in, Jiho had looked quite tired, but once he had seen Jihoon, he took a long glance up and down and asked Jihoon if he was interested in providing him with some _favours_. Jihoon shivers a bit at the word, and Jaehyo feels like hugging his knees, if not for the mug he’s balancing.

“I wasn’t interested in getting involved with Jiho, but he… can be rather persuasive, and somewhere along the way, I thought, maybe if I do this, I can get close enough to him to get the evidence I went there for. So I…”

Jaehyo doesn’t really want nor need to hear about what Jihoon did with Jiho, so he waves his hand, asking Jihoon to move on, and Jihoon swallows a bit, before continuing, “Anyway, nothing really happened besides the hickeys you saw, because instead of continuing whatever he had been doing, Jiho ended up crying on me. He told me he’s sorry but he’s not interested any more, and I should get dressed and leave.”

Jihoon rubs his hands together, stalling, before he resumes, “I should have gotten out of the room then, but I hesitated because he seemed genuinely upset. He started mumbling about how he shouldn’t be doing this, and how he’s tired of lying, and I don’t think he even noticed that I hadn’t left the room like I was supposed to.”

Jihoon explains how he later found out that Jiho had been making moves on a few of his staff after the scandal but never really did anything after a few initial touches, like what happened with Jihoon. No one had been willing to say anything to support Jihoon because they didn’t want to get fired, and without anything illicit really happening, Jihoon couldn’t get the proof he went for, so he had to find another way. That’s how he eventually went back to see Jiho.

Jiho didn’t make any moves on him. Instead he had seemed glad that Jihoon was there for company, and somehow they had ended up talking in a small pub after work. After a few nights of talking, consisting mostly Jiho being mopey, guilt-stricken, but never revealing the reason why, a drunken Jiho had let slip that he’s really sorry about what he had done to Jaehyo.

At the mention of his name, Jaehyo tenses up, but he doesn’t stop Jihoon who’s still talking.

“So after listening to him talk, I realized that Jiho was already guilt-stricken himself, and maybe he’ll be willing to clear up the scandal if I just… talked to him more. I didn’t actively suggest that he should release a press conference or resign or anything like that, but I can’t say I didn’t do anything that might have prompted him to expose everything himself.”

At that last statement, Jihoon sinks a bit into his seat, and rubs his face tiredly. Jaehyo suddenly understands why Jihoon’s been coming back so late recently. It must have been the talks with Jiho, and he doesn’t know how he should feel about Jihoon doing so much to help him bring the truth to light, at the expense of Jihoon’s own conscience.

“Jihoon, don’t feel guilty about what Jiho did. You didn’t force him, so don’t take that blame for yourself,” Jaehyo says softly, wondering how he’ll ever repay Jihoon for all that he’s done for him. Jihoon just smiles, with sad eyes.

“I know it’s not my fault, but I can’t help but feel partly responsible for causing a successful businessman’s demise, even if he was wrong when he did what he did to you,” Jihoon says, and Jaehyo puts down his mug, reaching over to hug Jihoon, who’s starting to shake. Patting Jihoon’s back, Jaehyo settles his chin on Jihoon’s shoulder, trying to provide comfort in return for the many times he’s received it from Jihoon.

 

 

Despite the happenings of the late evening, Jaehyo still has to go to work, because it’s too late to call in sick or find someone to replace him for the shift, so he reluctantly leaves a puffy-eyed Jihoon behind, making him promise to try and sleep.

Jaehyo still wears his cap low, unsure if the news would change how he’s being treated by strangers so quickly, if at all. He doesn’t know how he feels about Jiho coming out to expose the truth himself. Although he had thought that he would be happy, or at least relieved when the truth is out, the matter of the fact is that right now, Jaehyo just doesn’t know what to feel or think. Especially not when he knows how much Jihoon had to go through for it to happen, and he still hadn’t properly thanked the man (squirrel).

As he works, Jaehyo also considers what Jihoon had said, about the demise of Jiho, former successful and driven businessman, now disgraced and shamed. Even if Jiho had been cruel in the last of their relationship ( _if it can be called that_ ), Jaehyo still feels bad for the man he had once loved ( _maybe it wasn’t love in the purest sense, but it had been something_ ). Jaehyo sighs, accidentally kicking an empty box he forgot to put away, and decides that that’s the least of his concerns; he should be thinking about Jihoon instead, especially since he did so much to help Jaehyo expose the truth, and how can Jaehyo ever thank him for such a big favour? (Jihoon had insisted that he’s just repaying the debt he owes Jaehyo, but Jaehyo thinks he still owes the man-squirrel _something_.)

When he’s finally done with work (both at the convenience store and the mart), quickly helping the elderly couple at the mart move groceries, and getting permission to leave early, Jaehyo hopes the nachos he buys are at least a sort of thank you, until he can think of something better. He’s running the way back, hoping he can catch Jihoon before he leaves for work ( _will he still go to work now?_ Jaehyo wonders), and he throws his front door open, but there’s no one.

 _Oh. He must have missed Jihoon_ , Jaehyo thinks, looking at the clock. _Jihoon must have left for work already_. Jaehyo puts down the bags of chips and his bag, walking to the fridge to find something to eat.

 

 

But there’s something wrong. Jaehyo’s pacing around the house, wondering if Jihoon’s going to be back late, but it’s already 9pm, and yesterday Jihoon had been back around that time. He doesn’t know what he can do; it’s not like he can call Jihoon when he doesn’t have a handphone, so Jaehyo’s walking around the house, until he suddenly realizes –

Jihoon’s things are gone. Jaehyo’s eyes scan the shoe rack, making sure he hadn’t seen wrongly the first time, then hurriedly runs to check the wardrobe before he lets it sink in. Jihoon’s things are gone; Jihoon’s gone.

 

 

Jaehyo manages to call in sick this time, the manager at the convenience store nice enough to cover his shift for the night. He lies in bed, wondering how he didn’t notice anything amiss when he had first gotten home from work that morning. Jaehyo’s tempted to sink into the void and just mope, but he recalls Jihoon’s smiling face, and he can’t. So Jaehyo tosses and turns until the first light shines into his room, and he remembers that he hadn’t told the elderly couple at the mart about taking a day off. It’s not like he’s doing himself any good by lying on his bed, so eventually, Jaehyo picks himself up and heads to the mart.

At the mart, Jaehyo doesn’t get any questions about why he’s 15 minutes late, or why he’s in his own clothes instead of the convenience store uniform he usually arrives in. The old lady just asks him to move the boxes of fruits to the shelf, and he follows their instructions. When he’s done for the day, the old lady motions for him to come to the counter, and she hands him a white envelope. Jaehyo hadn’t even realized that it’s been a month since he started working, just thanking the owner for his paycheck, and turning to go, but she places another envelope, a brown one this time, into his hands.

“A young man came by yesterday after you left and asked me to give this to you when you turn up for work today. He made me promise that I would only hand this to you after you are done with your shift, although he won’t tell me why,” the old lady says, and Jaehyo stares at the brown envelope, quickly tearing it open.

_Hi hyung. If you’re reading this, it means I have already left. Don’t look for me, I won’t be in human form anymore, so don’t try. I’m sorry I have to leave this way, but I didn’t dare to stay longer. I am already becoming too attached to this world, but my deal for staying as a human for 2 months is almost up. Despite your impression of me, I am too much of a coward to do this any other way, so I chose the easiest way out for me._

_I’m sorry I can’t stay by your side anymore, but I’m just glad I got to resolve your problem before I had to go. Please don’t worry about me. I hope you will live your life happily._

 

There isn’t even a sign-off or any names mentioned, but Jaehyo knows this is from Jihoon. He knows it’s pointless, but Jaehyo finds himself looking around, even asking the old lady which direction Jihoon had headed yesterday when he had left. But even though Jaehyo spends the whole afternoon searching all the places the guy could gone to in the vicinity, he doesn’t find Jihoon.

When Jaehyo gets home, exhausted and hungry, he sees the nachos he bought yesterday, still on the kitchen table. He can’t help but wonder if the reason Jihoon had been stuffing himself with his favourite food a few days ago was because he already knew he had to leave soon. _That bastard_. Jaehyo rips open one of the bags and devours the chips, half because he’s famished and half because he’s angry. Though whether he’s angry at Jihoon for leaving like this, or at himself for not managing to thank Jihoon before he left, taking him and his help almost for granted, Jaehyo doesn’t know. When he’s halfway through the second bag, Jaehyo feels his cheeks get wet, and he doesn’t bother wiping the tears away as they flowed.

 

 

When he goes to work these days, Jaehyo keeps his cap low, because although people don’t shun him anymore when they recognize his face, they do a double-take and give him looks of sympathy (or pity), and he doesn’t want that either. He’s still doing his job at the convenience store and the mart, even though a few days after the news broke, one of his former friends, Minhyuk, had offered him an office job at the small company he runs with a friend. Jaehyo had thanked him, saying that he’ll let him know after he thinks about it, but it’s been 2 weeks and Jaehyo hasn’t called the number on the namecard Minhyuk had given him. He’s not sure why he hasn’t. The pay is definitely much better than what he gets doing 2 part-time jobs, but Jaehyo doesn’t know how he’ll feel about working in Minhyuk’s company.

It’s not like he needs to worry about rent for a while anyway, Jaehyo thinks, remembering how he had went to find the landlady to pay his rent after the 2 months advance had passed, only to find out that Jihoon had paid for another 4 months’ worth a few days before he had left. The guy was really good at taking care of Jaehyo, both in person and secretly, until he had done that thing where he’d left without warning.

Jaehyo shakes his head, trying to snap out of his thoughts. Nowadays, he tries his best not to think about anything related to Jihoon or the scandal, just trying to live his life normally, earning enough to buy groceries and eat, until he can figure out what he wants to do. He tries not to think about the strange man-squirrel who had appeared in his life and turned it around, or about the fact that the reason why he can go out in public and have a normal job if he chooses to right now is because of what Jihoon has done. He tries not to look back at all these memories because Jihoon had told him to _live his life happily_ , and he can’t do that if he’s getting dull aches in his chest from thinking about Jihoon.

Jaehyo tries his best to live the life Jihoon wants for him, because it’s the only way he can think of to thank the man for saving him.

 

 

In the end, Jaehyo never did call Minhyuk back. He doesn’t think he can stand working in an office at a small desk and be stuck in stuffy shirts all day. He gets lucky with finding a proper full time job when he mentioned that he’s been job searching to the old couple at the mart one day, and they had told him about the new tropical fish shop opening down the street.

The interview with the tattooed shop owner had gone easily enough, and the man who’s passionate about tropical fish had turned out to be friendly and quite gentle despite his initial tough appearance. Jaehyo is glad to get the job, and even if the pay isn’t as good as working in an office, he earns enough to pay rent and groceries, and have some left to save, so he doesn’t mind. He quits his convenience store job, but still helps out the old couple with deliveries when he isn’t needed at the fish shop.

 _It isn’t the life he once had_ , Jaehyo thinks, _but it isn’t a bad one_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry Jihoon couldn't stay, but it wasn't meant to work out that way. :(
> 
> I hope the reveal and conclusion was worth it though. That, and Jaehyo's life turning for the better. There's still an epilogue after this chapter, which will be hopefully less sad (it probably will be, because this chapter kind of made _me_ sad, and I knew it was coming). It should be coming soon because I don't want to leave this story hanging on this note.
> 
> Also, I reread this fic from start to end while writing this chapter, and I realized that somewhere in the middle, Jaehyo's perspective of Jihoon as bright, nice and honest had me believing the same. But if you do look closely at Jihoon's behavior, and what he chooses to say (or not say), you'll find that Jihoon isn't as simple as what Jaehyo had thought. I just felt like pointing it out, because it makes sense in light of what Jihoon's letter to Jaehyo says.
> 
> I'll love to hear what you think about this chapter, and please anticipate the epilogue!


	8. Epilogue

_Epilogue._

“Jaehyo, someone’s looking for you!”

Jaehyo looks in the direction of the door, where Taeil’s voice is coming from. His boss is balancing a bunch of filters, tattooed arms showing in a sleeveless shirt, as he stacks the irregular shaped objects so he can carrying them to the back of the store in one go. Jaehyo doesn’t see anyone standing near the entrance, but his vision is also mostly blocked by the many rows of fish tanks and colourful fish, so he just yells a “Coming!” and walks towards the door.

Avoiding knocking Taeil’s full arms as he slides pass the man between the fish tanks, Jaehyo reaches the counter facing the door, but he still doesn’t see anyone. He turns around, checking the aisles near the entrance, and finally spots a tall figure in a black hoodie in the last aisle. Jaehyo squints, because the height seems strangely familiar, but the silhouette does not, and he approaches the person with quick steps, hand rising to tap the guy’s shoulder.

Before his hand makes contact, the guy turns, and it is the last person Jaehyo expects to see.

_Jiho._

Jaehyo inhales sharply as he takes in Woo Jiho in front of him, the hood of his oversized hoodie covering a baseball cap underneath, in simple plain jeans and scruffy sneakers, standing between rows of guppies and corydoras. _He looks so different from when he wore a suit_ , is what Jaehyo’s brain adds _._

Jiho just looks at him, expression unreadable, and Jaehyo blinks a few times before he finds the words to ask, “What are you doing here?”

The sight of hands sliding into pockets as Jiho considers Jaehyo’s question is an unfamiliar one, a gesture of hesitation that Jaehyo hadn’t seen in the confident man before. He waits patiently for Jiho to answer, and eventually Jiho says, “I… wanted to see you.”

Jaehyo doesn’t know what to reply, but maybe Jiho hadn’t expected him to, because he continues, “I’m truly sorry for all the things I’ve done that has caused you pain, and I know an apology isn’t enough, but I thought I should still tell you that I’m sorry in person.”

Jaehyo wipes his palms on his jeans, because they’re suddenly clammy, but he’s surprised to find that he doesn’t hate the man anymore. Looking at the slightly hunched figure in front of him, Jaehyo can’t find it in himself to hate the man who had caused him so much grief only a year ago, and he wonders if he’d become a bigger person in the duration he hadn’t seen Jiho.

“It’s alright. I’ve already forgiven you.”

The jerk of Jiho’s head as he looks up cautiously to see whether Jaehyo meant what he had said makes Jaehyo smile a bit, and Jaehyo decides to offer the man a bone, “Don’t be so surprised. I’ve learnt to grow up and move on, and you should too.”

When Jiho stays silent, Jaehyo decides to elaborate, “After you told the truth and resigned, I had been relieved, but I wasn’t happy. You had hit rock bottom, but that wasn’t what I wanted, not really. Eventually I decided that I should stop holding a grudge against you, and only then was I finally able to move on with my life.”

Jiho just stares at him, unblinking, before he lets out a breath and mumbles, “Oh.”

Jaehyo waits a few moments, but Jiho doesn’t move, so he says, “If you’re not saying anything else, I’m going to go back to my work.” When he doesn’t get a reply, Jaehyo nods slightly, before returning to where he had been feeding the fish in the back.

 

 

A few days pass, Jaehyo going through the routine of tending to the fish and helping Taeil decide which new species to buy, but one afternoon when Jaehyo’s at the store alone, Jiho comes in. Not expecting to see Jiho again, let alone so soon, Jaehyo just continues checking the accounts, until Jiho walks up to the counter, and leans forward.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Jaehyo asks, his breathing a bit faster than he’ll like from how close Jiho is, but managing to sound like what he normally would to a customer.

“Yeah,” Jiho says, but doesn’t elaborate.

“What can I help you with?” Jaehyo rephrases, when he can’t stand the silence during which Jiho puts his elbows on the counter to rest his head on as he looks at Jaehyo.

“You said I should grow up and move on, and I thought about it. I realize I can’t move on because I can’t stop thinking about the 1 person I actually really love in my life, but had stupidly hurt in a series of bad, selfish decisions. I’ll like to make it up to that person, but I don’t know how,” Jiho says, voice slightly trembling and sincere while he glances away, avoiding Jaehyo’s eyes.

 _What do you mean?_ Jaehyo thinks, but maybe he said it out loud, because Jiho says, “It’s you.”

This time, Jaehyo’s the one who mutters an “Oh.”

Jiho however, doesn’t turn to walk away like Jaehyo had the other day. Instead he says, “I don’t know if you’ll even want to, but I’m going to regret it if I don’t at least ask. Jaehyo, you said you’ve forgiven me, so I won’t apologize again, even though I don’t think even a thousand apologizes will make it up to you. I’m just going to go straight to the point. I still really like you, would you like to start over?”

The implications of Jiho’s words sink into Jaehyo. There’s a small tug in his chest when Jaehyo hears the words “start over”, and he can’t help but wonder if there’s still a small part in his heart that feels something for the man in front of him.

He takes in Jiho, someone he thought he had known, but now strangely unfamiliar in his casual wear, slack posture, with dark smudges under his eyes and a face drawn with uncertainty as he waits for Jaehyo’s reply. Jaehyo takes it all in, and considers. This was what he had wanted before, wasn’t it? Meeting Jiho in a place where they weren’t Chairman and secretary. Jaehyo doesn’t know if he’s ready for what Jiho is suggesting, but he realizes that at least, he wants to get to know the changed Jiho standing in front of him.

So he tells Jiho that.

Jiho listens, and when Jaehyo finishes, he steps back from the counter he was leaning on to give a polite 90 degree bow.

“Hi, my name is Woo Jiho, and I work in my friends’ office nearby. I am also a recently divorced man who’s starting afresh. It’s nice to meet you. May I know what’s your name?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's really the end now. I hope the epilogue makes up for the sadness of the previous chapter. :|
> 
> Also, I don't know what's going to happen between Jaehyo and Jiho after this, but at least they've both let go of the past and are starting to know each other as new people. I really enjoyed writing this story, and I hope you like how it's ended. Please leave me comments on how you feel about the ending or the fic in general! I'll really like to hear from you :)
> 
> A lot of this fic was written while listening to Zico's [Pride and Prejudice](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wERNFN0r-c0) and much of Jiho's characterisation is inspired by his [rap lyrics](http://bontheblock.tumblr.com/post/134696234844/lyrics-zico-pride-and-prejudice-feat-suran) in the song. I wanted to mention this earlier, but didn't in case it gave spoilers on Jiho's character.
> 
> So, this is actually the first chaptered fic that I've finished, and while I'm still writing another chaptered fic, I might start a new fic (one shot or chaptered I've not decided) because this one has ended. I've found that working on 2 fics at one time helps to get me out of writing block for either fic. So if you have any suggestions or pairings (Block B or GOT7), feel free to let me know, although I won't make any promises whether I'll use it. ^^
> 
> And as a sort of bonus for making the last chapter so sad, I thought I'll add some details of the story that I've thought of, but didn't include in the story itself because it didn't fit in the text/it wasn't necessary for the progress of the story:  
> * The office that Minhyuk runs with his friend? That friend is Kyung. Lol.  
> * The friends' office that Jiho works at? Yes, that's Minhyuk and Kyung's office.  
> * So you can figure out why Minhyuk offered Jaehyo a job in the previous chapter...  
> * (Yes, it's Jiho's doing)  
> * Who was the first customer who recognized Jaehyo in the convenience store? It's actually Kyung, haha. But a reader suggested it could be Minhyuk, and I don't think that's a bad answer either. So it's up to you to decide. (Minhyuk and Kyung are close in this story anyway...)  
> * When Jaehyo made Kyung delete that photo he secretly took in the convenience store, Kyungie actually has more which Jaehyo didn't know about.  
> * So yes, he actually sent Jiho photo updates on Jaehyo...


End file.
